The Department of Residence Life aims to implement a gender-neutral housing policy which allows for coed rooms after the first two weeks next semester, according to Director of Residence Life Rich DeCapua. After the first two weeks of each semester, students may request to change rooms. According to a newly proposed plan, students who prefer gender-neutral housing may switch rooms after that period.

Although this initiative will not affect room selection this month, "the student body should expect to see changes as early as this coming fall," such as more comprehensive training on gender-relevant issues for Community Advisors, said Social Justice Committee Senate Chair and Village Quad Senator Michael Kerns '09, who is helping to spearhead this initiative.

Students said they have expressed concerns about the inclusiveness of the housing policy, which currently allows for coed suites and halls but not for coed rooms unless students approach Residence Life with individual concerns.

"We can't rely on the traditional gender binary to be one of those things that we base all policies on, because that's just not true," DeCapua said.

First-years can choose to live on a coed floor. Sophomores and upperclassmen can choose to live in coed suites.

The problem with the traditional housing system, Triskelion president Alice Ittelson '08 said, is that it assumes a static gender and heterosexuality and creates an uncomfortable situation if students must make a special case to Residence Life.

"If you're trans, that means you have to go to Res Life, and you have to out yourself, and for some people that can be an issue," TransBrandeis chairperson Emily Burd '08 said.

This initiative has been a collaborative effort among the Social Justice Committee, Trisk and TransBrandeis, Kerns said.

The group's goals are: a gender neutral housing policy for all upperclassmen and sophomores, "a gender-blind option that does not presuppose or force first-year students to self-identify [with regard to their gender] or live with a same-sex roommate unless they choose to do so," Kerns said. The group also advocates for stronger CA training in gender-related issues.

Burd said it has been one of TransBrandeis' goals to have gender-neutral housing.

Student Union Advocate Brian Paternostro '08 said he met with DeCapua last year to discuss the possibility of gender-neutral housing. "We discussed what's currently being done with ResLife and how they're moving toward getting the policy in place," he said.

Last year, the Board of Trustees changed the University's non-discrimination policy to include protection of people on the basis of "gender identity and expression."

"We have to make sure that every process is at a point that reflects terminology for gender-neutral housing," to make sure that the process is done appropriately and correctly, DeCapua said.

DeCapua also stressed that this policy would not only affect trans people, but also allow males and females to live together.

According to Kerns, there will be a forum to discuss gender-neutral housing at Brandeis in April, which will include members of Residence Life.

One concern that many students involved in this initiative had was the housing form that first-years fill out upon entering Brandeis.

"If your documentation doesn't really show who you are, it's not ok to go by that," Burd said.

"One way for people to be more comfortable is to have more questions that just have to do with personality, completely unrelated to gender,"?she added.